PS261 Lecture Notes - Procedural Memory, Cognitive Ethology, The Delay
Document Summary
Chapter 11 comparative cognition i: memory mechanisms. The investigation of behaviours that can t be characterized in terms of simple associations or reflexes. Animals have internal representations of their environment. Focus is all on cognitive abilities that could have been explained by classical or instrumental conditioning. The animal is performing an internal representation. Interested in how the representations are formed and what aspects of the experiences are coded and how the experiences are used to guide behaviour. Can lead to actions that cannot be explained on the basis of the external stimuli an individual experiences at the time. Cognitive ethology: claim that animals are capable of conscious thought and intentionality. Conscious intent is the likely source of such clever and flexible behaviour. Comparative cognition refers to theoretical constructs and models used to explain aspects of behaviour that cannot be readily characterized in terms of simple s-
